It kind of took a long time to get this chapter up . But at least it's up now, and it's a bit long. Enjoy xD

Chapter 06

Another Dance Disaster

Hermione did not fall asleep easily that night. There had been an odd moment when Hermione had been examining Miiro's facial details; how gracefully calm it was when she slept and how her slanted eyes complimented her high cheekbones and pale skin. How different she was from Ro. However, as Hermione found herself becoming lost within Miiro's beauty, the other girls' eyes slowly opened, making Hermione quickly shut hers. However, she had a feeling Miiro had noticed her staring even as she feigned sleep.

But Miiro wasn't the only thing-or person more importantly, on her mind the following week. That Saturday, the Entrance Dance would come and Hermione would find herself dancing with Ro Kato, someone she was trying to avoid yet somehow was getting involved with anyway.

But, for some reason, Hermione found herself becoming rather miserable. It seemed it didn't take much for her to become homesick…or at least, that's what she kept telling herself. But truthfully, she had a feeling it had something to do with the entrance dance, or rather the person she was going with. Her mind hadn't left the thought of going with Miiro, and dancing with Miiro and looking at Miiro, hugging her and even...

Hermione grumbled as she stabbed her morning meal. This place is turning me into a bloody lesbian…she thought, ignoring the worried stares coming from her friends. It was another Friday, and she was feeling more nervous than she expected, anticipating the upcoming dance…that which she would spend with someone she wasn't even interested in.

Somehow, though she shouldn't have been so surprised, her spirits rose when she saw Miiro in Advanced Magic User's class again. Though she had come to fear her a bit, she was more excited to be in her presence because it meant she was just one step closer to figuring her out. Suddenly, she hadn't thought of if she was beginning to become attracted to the female species. But, she didn't really realize that Miiro was beginning to become her entire world.

"You're nervous,"

"What?" Hermione asked, looking at Miiro curiously. They had now begun to have regular conversations when they were working.

"You should be nervous. You're going to the Entrance Dance with Ro, after all." Miiro said, writing down the assignment as Professor Kouda recited it.

"Oh…well…I am…" Hermione stuttered, still quietly as she waited for Professor Kouda, then she could write down what the assignment for the weekend was.

"So…" Miiro began again, a hint of disappointment in her voice, though it was difficult to tell. She was talking so quietly after all. "You're really excited about going with her?"

Hermione just stared at her, though Miiro didn't return her gaze. She wasn't excited…not at all, actually. She was more nervous and disappointed. But how was she supposed to say that she would rather go with Miiro than her best friend, Ro?

"Granger," She heard sternly, making her head shift quickly to the front of the room where Professor Kouda stood, staring at her as if warning her to not say anything. And so, she just stood and walked up to Professor Kouda's desk, and took the daily assignment.

Hermione heaved a heavy sigh as she walked out of the room with Miiro. It seemed she wouldn't be able to shake off this strong feeling until the Entrance Dance was over, and suddenly she was looking forward to the dance, only because it would eventually end.

"Hermione!" She heard a loud shout, looking toward Ro and some of her friends who was grinning and waving for her and Miiro to walk to her.

"Ne, has Miiro-kun been keeping you company?" Ro said in her usual excited manner, which Hermione had become used to by that time. She nodded shyly in response, looking away from Ro's gaze, which she still couldn't stand. "Well," She continued, wrapping her arm around Hermione's shoulders. "She won't keep you as good a company as I will," At that, Ro planted a small kiss on Hermione's cheek, to which she responded with wide eyes and stiffening. Ro giggled and walked away with her other friends, except for Miiro, who only stood and smirked just barely, saying lastly before catching up with Ro, "Pucker up, Granger."

Hermione gulped yet again as she sat on her bed, her fingers entwined as she stared down at her red stilettos.

"Are you ready yet, Granger?" Miiro yelled from outside of their dorm door. Hermione had insisted that she stand outside as Hermione changed into her attire for the night. There were two reasons why she did that: the first because she truly didn't want anyone in the same room while she was dressing she felt so uncomfortable when she had to do that on the Hogwarts Express, year after year. and the second because she was afraid if Miiro had seen her without clothes one…well, obviously she wasn't entirely sure what would lead to what. Miiro had previously dressed into a black tuxedo, with the jacket unbuttoned and a few buttons undone from the white shirt underneath. The black slacks complimented her thin, boyish figure, and Hermione found she had to rip her eyes away. Now, it was just a matter of how she would present herself in front of her peer instead of the other way around.

"Y-yes! I'm coming!" She forced herself to regain composure as she stepped out of the door, her hands entwined behind her back as she looked down, waiting to hear some smart comment from Miiro. However, when she looked up due to the silence, she caught Miiro repeatedly looking her up and down. When she saw Hermione looking back at her, she smirked.

"So you are looking to get laid."

Hermione grumbled, and then began walking down the hall. "Let's go," She said in a frustrated tone. As if she wasn't all ready unnerved as it was, she didn't need comments from Miiro making her have unwanted thoughts. When Miiro entwined her left arm with Hermione's right, she didn't feel any better. If anything, she only became more nervous, even though Miiro had certain comforting warmth to her body; it was still Miiro Houraku, one of the most wanted girls in Goukaku Magic School.

The walk to the entrance hall, which had been previously decorated for the event, was done in silence. Hermione was too nervous to speak, and was for once glad that Miiro was the quiet type.

When they arrived at the entrance hall, she didn't feel much better. The extravagant decorations seemed to almost be over done for a simple school dance, but Hermione had established on her first day at Goukaku that it didn't appear to be an average school.

"Hime-san!" Hermione cringed as she heard the familiar nickname, and her head jerked away from the decorations as she noticed Ro walking toward her with her usual posse. Somehow, since Miiro had pointed out that she disliked Hermione's given nickname, Hermione herself had come to feel uncomfortable when called it. Did Miiro really have that large of an impact on everyone, or was it just Hermione?

"Ah, I see Miiro-Kun was keeping you company again," Ro continued, wrapping an arm around Hermione's shoulder, just as she had done when she saw Hermione and Miiro walking out of Advanced Magic Users' class together.

"You two are getting awfully close, aren't you?" One of Ro's friends said, nudging Hermione playfully in her side.

Hermione blushed furiously as Miiro remained cool and calm, as she always did. How could she do that while Hermione resembled a cherry?

"Anyway, Hime-san," Ro broke in again. "We'll go sit before everyone starts dancing. Let's go!"

Ro began walking with her posse toward some table while Hermione decided to continue by Miiro's side. But she noticed that Miiro, who was just as popular and attractive as Ro, was awkwardly alone.

"Miiro…who's your date?" Hermione asked curiously.

Miiro just shrugged and responded, "I don't have one."

Hermione's brow furrowed. "Why? Didn't you ask someone?"

Miiro shook her head. "I'm only here because Ro wanted me to come."

Hermione, though she shouldn't have been very surprised, temporarily paused at Miiro's statement. I guess, she thought, that I should expect her to say something like that. But, she was somewhat disappointed. Miiro was only here for Ro, and otherwise she would probably either be in the dorm room or out at some place partying.

"Hey, you two stop flirting and hurry up!" Once again, Hermione turned as red as a tomato, and Miiro just smirked and continued toward the table that Ro was sitting out with her usual friends.

Hermione wasn't sure how much time passed with just Ro talking and her friends laughing at whatever she said (Hermione couldn't understand half of it, because sometimes she spoke in Japanese and sometimes she spoke in English), but mostly Hermione was focusing on Miiro, and how she was just sitting silently beside Ro, as if she was the only one in the room.

"Hime-san, let's dance!" Ro said suddenly in a loud, excited voice. Hermione found herself behind pulled by the arm to the dance floor and suddenly she was uncomfortably close to Ro Kato.

"You're blushing, Hime-san," Ro purred, pulling Hermione even closer to her (which was oddly possible).

Hermione gulped nervously, suddenly feeling as if she'd like to flee the room and hide under the covers of her bed like a little girl. But, with the way Ro was holding onto her tightly, she felt that wasn't going to happen any time soon.

And, as if someone wanted to further torture her, a sweet ballad sounded in the Entrance Hall turned ball room, and Hermione found herself resting her head on Ro's shoulder. I'm at a dance…with Ro Kato. I should be feeling excited… She thought, sighing. This night wasn't something she was excited about though. When her eyes caught Miiro again, seeing her furiously gulping down some beverage, she once again felt like she would rather be close to her, rather than Ro, her best friend.

"Hime-san…" Ro quietly said, moving away from Hermione just barely. Her dark brown eyes were gazing into Hermione's light ones, and suddenly Hermione knew just what was on Ro's mind, and just what she wanted to do.

Hermione gulped again, feeling her body tense and freeze. She wanted so badly to move away from Ro as quickly as possible, but it seemed her body was listening to her thoughts.

As Ro slowly moved closer to her, Hermione felt herself begin to shiver. She didn't like Ro…she'd never been attracted to her. Of course she was nervous around her, but only because of her confidant nature. She wasn't used to people demanding so much of her, and yet Ro wanted her…but not her, her body.

And that's exactly why Hermione wasn't attracted to her. So, as Ro finally filled the gap between them, Hermione finally found the sense to roughly push the other girl away, and run as fast as she could out of the Entrance hall, leaving a very surprised Ro Kato behind.

As she took the elevator to her floor, she thought of how much harder it would be to be near Ro, to talk to Ro, and how weird it would be to share a dorm with Miiro, Ro's best friend.

Finally the elevator stopped and Hermione rushed to her dorm, she slammed the door behind her and plopped down on her bed after pulling a scroll and a quill out from under her bed. Maybe the complications with girls would go away if she talked to someone with something else in their pants.

Dear Ron and Harry, she wrote casually, trying to calm herself. I'm sorry I haven't written since I've arrived here. Things have been more hectic than I've expected…but what's important is that I'm writing now. How have you been? I suppose the war has been horrible. How is Hogwarts? What's the staff like? What about the students? I have a lot of questions, but I'll just leave it at that for now. Reply soon...Love from, Hermione. It was short, but she didn't feel as if she could talk to them or write to them without bursting out into her issues with the girls at Goukaku, even though she'd only been there a couple of weeks.

"Ron…who's that? You're boyfriend?"

Hermione jumped at the sound of Miiro's voice, which seemed to be reaction to every sudden appearance the other girl made. She grumbled in aggravation. "Not really. Why? Is it required for me to have a girlfriend instead?"

Miiro arched an amused eyebrow and smirked. "In this place, there is no limit to love within gender."

Hermione fell silent as she observed Miiro. So that's why Hermione felt as if she didn't understand Goukaku when she first arrived. That's why Ro was always sleeping around, that's why Hermione felt herself thinking of Miiro all the time. People here weren't heterosexual or bisexual or homosexual. These people were just attracted to…attractive people. It didn't matter if you were a girl or a boy. If you looked nice, and acted nice, then you were an ideal person.

And suddenly, Hermione wanted to be like that. She sighed and folded the scroll, putting it away until she would send it in the morning.

She was about to apologize to Miiro for her sudden bitter temper when she felt a heat against her back, and warm hands on her shoulders. She felt a shiver go down her spine as she suddenly felt aroused at Miiro's simple touch.

Maybe this is what Hermione wanted since she saw Miiro Houraku. Because Miiro was an attractive person, was that why Hermione really liked being around her? But she felt it was something much deeper than that.

As Miiro's hands moved further down her shoulders, to her arms, Hermione took in a deep gasp. She wasn't entirely sure what was going on, but she wasn't stopping it, was she?

And suddenly she felt disappointment as Miiro pulled her hands away. "You're tense," She said simply before leaving the dorm room, leaving Hermione just more confused.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Hehehe! I love MiiroxHermione! So fun to type. Anyway, previews:

"You like Miiro-kun, don't you?!"

"I wish you would tell me...what you're thinking,"

"Granger, I want you to stay after class, seeing as you can't keep your mouth shut around Houraku Miiro-san."